


Your Mark On My Skin

by Suganyeon



Category: MDZS, wangxian - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Fluffyfest, Investigations, M/M, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, Plot Twists, Porn with Feelings, Serial Killers, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 10,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suganyeon/pseuds/Suganyeon
Summary: A serial killer on the loose. A mark linking all victims. What does it mean to be the one making them?Lan Wangji is rising to fame as a detective. He bounces from crime to crime without a break, being the job his solemn reason to live, that is, until he meets the charming suspect.
Relationships: Wei Wuxian & Lan WangJi, Wei Ying/Lan Zhan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

It was only the first day of the week and Lan Wangji was already tired. He slept almost nothing on the weekend, accompanying his boss on the interview and celebrations of the last case closed. He wanted to stay in bed for a whole month, no job, no nothing. Just enjoying the silence made by no people around him.

He imagined if the pile of cold cases was enough to hide him on a nap break or kill him if it fell on his head. He paid for the coffee, welcoming the little warmth provided by the cup on his hand. It was just so cold outside, he could see little clouds each time he breathed. He took a big sip leaving the store, hearing an "ouch" when the door he opened hit on someone, his coffee splashing on his new, now tainted, suit.

"Omg! I'm so sorry!" The man on the ground rubbed his red nose, apologizing as he reached for a few pages on the floor. It didn't even seem as if he crashed on the door because of Lan Wangji. "Are you okay?"

"Mn. You?" He saw the man get up, offering a hand to stabilize his feet. 

"Pitch perfect" he opened a big smile, a drop of blood coming from his nose as he took the hand away. 

"Omg, a-Xian!" He heard the voice of the woman coming from inside the shop, taking various napkins from her apron as she came closer. The boy took some on his hands, but before he cleaned his nose, he rubbed them on Wangji's suit trying to dry the damage made.

"It won't come out! Omg, what should I do? I'm so sorry! It looks so expensive! Fuck, send me the bill, I will pay for the dry cleaner" he kept rubbing the papers, speaking so fast it made Wangji even more annoyed.

"It is okay. You should care for yourself first" he held the hand by the wrist, the other going to the man's chin, raising his head to check his nose "It doesn't look broken. Good. Don't worry about the suit. I can change at work" he responded politely "if you excuse me" he nodded at them walking away. It was such a good way to start a Monday.

Lan Wangji sighed again seeing his dirty suit, he could still hear the rants of the man calling him, and the woman holding him still to clean the bleeding nose. It was white noise inside his head to suppress the boring meeting he was in. It was a habit. Recall moments of his life to check his memory power to catch small details.


	2. Chapter 2

"Let's end it here then" Jin Guangshan spoke from the front of the room. Ever since he was promoted to chief of the precinct, he made a special task to work on cold cases, and of course, it had to be Lan Wangji division, the one responsible for them. He watched the man walk away, sitting still on his chair to the real beginning of the meeting. 

"As the chief said, the cases now are a little different from what we are used to. So far, they were old cases never concluded from ages ago, but those ones are current cases" Lan Xichen spoke taking the lead, he was the top detective of the department, and Lan Wangji older brother, with years of experience in front of him.

"And why did those end up with us?" Xiao Xingchen asked in a sleepy voice. Lan Wangji wasn't used to seeing the men out of the forensic room, so much he barely noticed his presence. 

"Those cases have been going on for three years now. The police force couldn't get one single lead to follow" Nie Mingjue was the second in command. As he was the second most experienced in the room. "We will be working as normal, it can be considered a cold case depending on how you see it"

"Three years and no lead? What were they doing so far?" Wangji raised a brow to his question.

"I remember this case" Wen Qing's voice made him silent. She was the head of the forensic department and the sole doctor of the precinct. She was, in some ways, involved with every case that arrived there. She kept going Thru the pages, flipping one by one to look at the bodies pictures "I didn't know they grouped all as one" 

Yes, it was weird. No corpse had the same way of killing. An amount of ten corpses spread over three years, and none had the reason, or even a trace of the guilty man left behind. All they knew was.. they needed to catch the culprits and bring them to justice. But it would be a long shot in the dark to do so after so much time has passed. 

"Yao, call Yang, ask for the exhumation. Qing, there is a body in the freezer for you, Xingchen, work on the evidence, the locker must be full of them. Me, Ming, and Wangji will go to the last scene. It happened only two days ago. We can have hopes that the place isn't too tainted. Let's work from the earliest to the oldest ones. This way there are more chances of getting the killer" Xichen ended his speech looking at the top boss from the department. 

Lan Qiren nodded agreeing with his plan, he was still getting used to this position, not so long he was in his nephew's shoes, but trusted him one hundred percent, even if he was just a newborn lamb in his eyes. 

They moved quickly to his positions, each following Xichen's words. It was only when they got in the car that the eldest Lan made his remarks on his brother's attire "Did something happen on your way, Wangji? You are using your reserve suit" he smiled looking back from the passenger seat.

"Not much. Dropped coffee on it coming to the work" he chose to not say how.

"It still amazes me how you can notice. All his suits are the same. Just as his face. Never changing ice block" Mingjue was always bugged by the weird relationship of his partner with the little shadow he had. His own brother could open a shop with so many different fashions present in his closet, living there more than in the real world.

"This one has horizontal stripes of navy blue over the darker Navy blue background. And an off white shirt. So is really easy to spot" Xichen laughed after saying it, to the weirded Expression of Mingjue to Wangji "mn"

"It's all blue to me. I see no stripes of nothing" the small talk ended when they arrived at the scene. All three got out of the car, checking their guns and making sure the badges were visible over the suits before walking inside.


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you see?" Xichen asked after Lan Wangji gave a look to the place. He carried the file with the pictures from the day of the murder on his hands, flipping the pages to check the pictures. 

"No changes. Good sign" it was a small apartment. One room, bathroom, shared kitchen with living room. Not much to the eyes. Lucky.

The pool of blood was leading to the room as if the victim tried to run away from his aggressor. The weird thing was… there was no sign of forced entry on the door or window. It was like this woman knew the person who came to kill her.

"Wang Biyo, female, 23 years old. She was a student at the local University, in her second year of economics. No boyfriend at the time of the crime. The family came after three days without news… damn… the mother was the one to find the corpse" Mingjue read the file in a loud voice. Shaking his head to the mention of family members. "She had no enemies according to a close friend, fellow student, no changes in her routine. No suspects. So far. They interrogated friends and family, all clean"

"Any deliveries?" Xichen asked, scanning the room.

"There is a doorman downstairs. By the time of death nothing was delivered to this address."

"And for others?" Wangji opened his mouth, he was on the room doors, watching the pool of dry blood on the bed.

"Damnit. There is nothing here. I will go check with him" 

"Now we know why they have no leads" Wangji waited until Mingjue left the apartment until he spoke again. 

"Now, now. We can blame them for missing a few spots" it was true. Not everyone had the experience to do an investigation. And the only task force present in the town who had was them… and even so, they lacked personal as it was.

"They shouldn't try to do things they aren't capable of. It only makes our job worse" 

"You are in a bad mood, did something happen? Maybe the reason why you changed outfits at work?" Wangji was glad his brother could read him so well most of the time. But on others… he simply hated it. And this was one of those cases.

"Just… tired. I bumped into someone today. Spilled my coffee. Had no chance to get another before coming to work."

"You shouldn't force yourself. If it is too much, I can speak with uncle and let you free from all the social activities" it was a well-known fact that Lan Wangji hated interacting with people he was not used to.

"Mn. It is okay brother. No need to speak with him"

"Okay… was it a cute one?" Xichen smiled softly asking

"Who?" 

"The person you bumped on" he could read the faint blush of his brother's ears

"Nonsense" it was. The man had a smile that Wangji was never able to show. Carefree and warm. Eyes glittering under the sun. White skin, with no marks. Delicate features adorning his face, and a slim waist Wangji made sure to check when helping him get up. It was just his type if he had any, he couldn't remember the last time he found someone attractive.


	4. Chapter 4

Xichen smiled at Mingjue as when he got back to the room, the Nie was buffing for air, red-faced waving a hand to his face. “Out of shape, aren’t we?” 

“haha, very funny. Let’s race outside and see who is the one getting a flat ass on desk job” Mingjue adjusted his tie, loosening the knot “The fucking elevator could be working” They were on the sixth floor from the building. And he had just gone through the staircases three times. 

“What do you learn?” Wangji was quick to stop the chit chat, not wanting to stay even one more second in that place. He had already gone thru all info on the file, searched the place for anything the forensic team could have forgotten but found nothing. 

Nie Mingjue gave him an offended look, screwing his eyes in Wangji direction, he took out a Minibook from his pocket, flipping it pages until he found the one he wanted “Male, around his mid to late twenties, black hair, fair skin, slim waist… Using a jacket, jeans, and a hat, from a pizza franchise. I don’t know if he was describing a suspect or a perfect date, but he said he was cute, close to gorgeous, and had a perfect round ass when got up the stairs” Mingjue closed his notes squeezing the bridge of his nose “Ahh, the things we heard on this job” 

“Looks like any delivery man”

“looks like a hot delivery man, I only get old pricks on mines. Damn, I am buying on the wrong places” Mingjue walked inside the room replying to Xichen, not missing the fade of the other smile. 

“Can I not be here for your flirting?” Wangji looked between them, it was so normal to see this scene when they were alone, even more on family dinners, since it was an almost-known-by-everyone secret that those two are together. 

“Come on, Wangji, I can introduce you to someone if you want to. Sang has good friends” Mingjue threw one arm around Wangji shoulder pulling the man closer to him. He only let go when the Lan crossed thru the door frame.

“No, thank you. I do not need”

“He met a cutie today” Xichen completed with unwanted words

"Oh? The last Lan finally fell?" Mingjue poked Wangji's cheeks, he loved to treat the man as a baby especially since, different from his own brother, this one hated it.

"No sense. The only that fell was my coffee" He pushed away the other arm, going downstairs with red ears. Pretending to not hear the two others mocking his attitude.


	5. Chapter 5

Wuxian was still holding the bridge of his nose, it hurt so much he didn't believe in the stranger, it must have been broken! He winced each second the ice cube hit his skin, the taste of blood reaching his mouth. "Jie, can't I have hot chocolate? The taste is not going out" he pouted taking away the tissues of his face to let his expression show with full force. "Ouch!"

"Don't give me that stupid" Jiang Cheng spoke hitting the back of his head "how old are you to let a fucking door hit your face?" He was raised with Wuxian, considered part of his family even allowing him to call his sister with a carrying nickname, but he hated this innocent aura he had sometimes "you should have hit him once to make it fair"

"Calm down you two" Jiang Yanli came closer smiling at the childish play. "A-Xian, put the ice back, and you a-Cheng, don't hit our brother" she put the cup down seeing Wei Wuxian showing his tongue, and Jiang Cheng hitting him softly once again. It was always like that between them, but they always had each other's backs.

She walked away when the door chime ringed, greeting the customer who walked inside the small coffee shop. "Welcome!" 

"You could treat me better, I am hurt!" Wuxian pouted again, crossing his arms to said brother. 

"As if you aren't used to it now, Xian" Now Huaisang sat beside him, he worked as a barista in the shop, a job taken by knowing the Jiang's his whole life. He just wanted a way to run away from the police life his father and brother had, and that place was perfect for him.

"Oy, shouldn't you be working?" Cheng crossed his arms pointing to the balcony.

"And lose the gossip? No way! I'm on my break!" Huaisang pulled Wuxian closer by the arm "what made you so dazed to this point?" 

Wuxian gulped at his friend's curiosity. "I… may have seen an angel today!" 

"Ohh, please continue" Sang got closer to hear the news.

"He looked like a charming prince! No lies! He was just sooo good looking" he blushed at his own words as they left his mouth

"Are you talking about the dick who gave you that?" Cheng pointed to Wuxian's face dismissing his words. "He didn't even stay to clean his own mess" he had watched the scene unfold in front of his eyes, blaming his slow reaction for letting it happen. 

"Don't talk like that, he was busy!" 

"Busy my ass! He just didn't want to see your ugly mug again. Nobody wants anyway" it was a fact. Wuxian wasn't ugly, he would even dare to call himself handsome in front of the mirror, but all his dates never gave him a chance. They would seem interested at first, but never reach again, or even call after only a few dates. At this age, and he never even had his first kiss taken away because of that.

"I… do I look this ugly?" 

"Nooo, xianye, you are super cute! Even with a purple nose! Right chengie?" Huaisang shook the man lightly giving emphasis to his words.

"Oh… so I am just boring than" he sighed. "Nobody ever calls back after knowing me" it was a touchy subject to him, his last words coming out almost whispered in a tiny voice

"You aren't. You just didn't meet the right person" Cheng tried to cheer his friend a little bit, receiving a small smile as a response.

"If Chengcheng says, it must be true!"

"Yup, believe me. You are amazing" he hides his embarrassment sipping on the black coffee "anyway, we need to go"

"Awwwww… Come back later, maybe your charming prince will be around" they waved goodbye, kissing Yanli before leaving the place.


	6. Chapter 6

Lan Wangji used the rest of his will to make it until the precinct. He couldn't take any more of his brother and his boyfriend flirting on the job. At least not when he was this tired. They only did it in front of him, and only when they were alone, but at this moment Wangji wanted to enjoy a silent space, not a parade of love confessions.

He planned to take a deserving nap, let the others do their functions as he waited for the results of the forensic lab. But, of course, life would not agree with his plans. As soon as he got inside the building he was asked in Lan Qiren's office, Meeting a fresh cadet first thing when he opened the door.

"Wangji, good timing. Met Mo Xuanyu, starting today he will be your new partner" the boy looked frail, shy, and small. So small that Wangji thought if he had ever heard of food in his life

"Mn. It's a pleasure" he offered a hand pretending he was not bothered by the call.

"I-its my pleasure, sir" Mo Xuanyu shook his hand, bowing to his superior.

*Take care of him for now, until Song Lan comes back next week at least. After that he will be signed to Jin Guangyao, I would prefer if he could be the one giving the first instructions, but since he is on a desk job, for now, it is better to make him have a little more field experience to let out the green inside him" Qiren spoke to Wangji, turning to the young man "you will be in good hands, worry not" he waved for them to go away.

Wangji guided Mo Xuanyu through the corridors, naming everyplace they crossed on their way, he directed him to the shared officer, pointing to the two desks at the end of the room "this is yours, the one in front is me, with the back at the wall. Those two are Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue, second and third in command, you will pass all cases through them, and they will inform Qiren about it."

"Greetings" Mingjue offered his hand, being followed by Xichen

"Welcome, young man"

"It's a pleasure to be here, sir"

"Drop the sir with us, save it to the highest levels. Anyway, that desk belongs to my partner, and that one to your future one" Jing Guangyao arrived with perfect timing, smiling when he saw the small man in the room

"Yao-ge!"

"You finally made it! I was starting to get worried" he got closer, returning the hug given to him

"I… got lost on the way, and then when I got here the papers were wrong and I needed to go back to fix it with the academy" 

"You really have no luck" Yao patted the boy head ruffling his hair

"You know each other, I see*

"You didn't hear about it, Wangji?" Xichen asked him raising his brow "Mo Xuanyu is Yao youngest brother"

"From those we know, at least" the remark came from the oldest Jin son.

"I go by my mother's name, s- erm, Wangji?"

"I see…" he hasn't heard anything. But then again, it was hard to keep track of every woman Jin Guangshan took to bed.

"Let's continue the tour, there is a little more I need to show you" he walked around the rest of the precinct, Making sure the youngster would keep track of the bureaucracy he reached to every corner they turned. It was exhausting.

"This is the last place" he opened the doors to see Xiao Xingchen with his face buried on a corpse, Wen Qing typing furiously on the computer. A very loud rock song playing on the speakers. "Pardon me" Wangji spoke to the detective. Omg closer to the boombox, turning it off, he glared at the two doctors in the room. "keep it down for a while, would you?"

"Why should we? The dead aren't bothered by it" Qing didn't even take her eyes off the screen.

"Who's this?" Nor did Xingchen stop his actions.

"This is No Xuanyu, he is starting today" he turned around to see Xuanyu's green face. Sighing, he pointed to the bathroom "if you need to puke do it there" he had barely closed his mouth when the boy rushed through him.

"Newbies" both workers spoke in unison, finally stopping what they were doing to laugh hard at each other.

"No bullying"

"I just don't know how you can graduate from the academy without ever seeing a dead body open on the table" the woman was right on her remarks. It was something not every detective was used to on the first day on this job.

"Do you have anything for me?" He approached Xingchen seeing Xuanyu fresh out of the bath tracking his steps. 

"Yeah. Hey newbie, gear up, give me a hand with this" Xiao Xingchen pointed to the attire he used to dissect corps on top of the table. The kit contained a disposable gown, gloves, glasses, and a face mask. All needed to not contaminate the corpse. He waited patiently until Xuanyu put it all on, coming closer to his side "hold this for me" 

Xingchen started pulling organs on the young hands. With the clogged blood dirtying his clothes, Xuanyu's face became even greener than before, as the smell reached his nose. He closed his mouth tight, puffing cheeks to hold in the puke. Suddenly letting it all above the corpse and rushing back to the bathroom. "Ahahaha, sucker" he laughed so hard he hit the table.

"I told you, no bullying"

"You were the one standing still while I did that" Xingchen almost couldn't speak catching back his breath, cleaning a tear created by his laugh

"We found a partial fingerprint. There is no match on the database. We are running it through the national Bank now." Qing shook her head pretending to not be amused by the prank. Their data only covered criminals or those with a police file. The national database had every fingerprint taken, for IDs to passports, but took a long more time to find a match, and with a partial fingerprint, it may not even found one. It was a shot in the dark.

"DNA?" Xuanyu was back again, standing as far as he could from the table, he listened carefully to Wangji questions, making mental notes of each one.

"Only hers. We found fur on her clothes, we are analyzing to see to which species it belongs to… what?" She inquired the raise of the brow

"There were no pets in her apartment"

"It may have been from her daily life, friends, or a missing pet" Xuanyu exposed his textbook knowledge

"Or a transfer" Wen Qing spun on her chair to meet eye to eye with the new detective. She shakes her head at his lack of experience, eyes moving back to Lan Wangji "we will ring you when we have something"

"Mn. Please do"

"You should take him for a fresh air" she waved for them to go, turning back to the computer even before they could say bye.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you want some coffee?" Wangji stood in front of the station seeing the color slowly go back into Mo Xuanyu's face. 

"Yes, please..." the boy had a hand over his stomach and an expression of someone ready to throw away all his breakfast in the trash bin he was leaning above.

Wangji crossed the street thanking the heavens for the new coffee shop in front of the precinct. That was not only because he had a close please for his morning shot. But mostly, because the coffee from the station tasted like something brewed on the socks of a sumo sportist who jogged for a month without changing it. 

He opened the door taking extra care after the morning accident, enjoying the quiet atmosphere from the place as he walked inside. Mo Xuanyu followed close as he approached the woman on the balcony.

"Welcome, oh, it's you!" She smiled brightly at him, cleaning her hands on the towel stuck on the apron.

"Mn. I am sorry to cause disturbance in your shop." He tried to offer a polite smile but his face didn't seem to agree with that.

"Oh, no! That was an accidental misfortune! You don't have to worry about it!"

"Mn. But I left a customer hurt. It was wrong of me. I do not want him to stop coming to your establishment because of that." He fished, but what could he do? He wanted to know if there was any chance to see the beauty again, maybe discover what it was he had felt all day.

"Oh, you don't have to worry, he was more upset because of your suit! If you leave me your contact I can give it to him and you both can discuss the cleaning fees." She too was fishing for something there.

"Mn." He offered his card to her, bowing slightly to his actions: "If you don't mind the trouble." 

"Not at all!" Her smile grew bigger. "What can I do for you today?" 

"An Americano, black, large, no cream or sugar, please."

"And for him?" She looked at Mo Xuanyu, still holding his stomach beside Wangji.

"Ah… a mocha please, extra cream and sugar if you don't mind, ma'am."

"Not at all honey!" It was fun how their tastes were so different from each other.

The order arrived at the table a few moments later. Wangji could see with his trained eyes the small talk behind the counter, pointing to his direction while softly hidden by hands. "NUMBER SEVEN." The boy turned to him with both cups on hand when he called, greeting with a smile when Wangji reached for them, he took a long pause, eyeing him from top to bottom before giving the hot cup away. "There you go sir, enjoy it."

Only when they left the place did Xuanyu notice the number on Wangji's cup "What’s that?" It was a name, and a phone number. 

"Wei Wuxian, XXX-XXXXXXXX" A-Xian... Wasn't this how the woman called that man this morning? The thought crossed his mind as Wangji read the messing handwriting. He had a number, a name, a face… But no courage to dial.


	8. Chapter 8

"What a beautiful man!" Huaisang looked closer to the both newcomers in the shop. He whispered to Yanli seeing the girl open a huge smile when she followed his eyes.

"Welcome, oh…" he analyzed with trained eyes the interaction between the two of them, thinking about how every good looking guy called for the woman. He did notice, thought, how this one resembled someone he knew. "You can sit and wait for your order if you like. We will call the number when it's ready."

"Jie, it’s so unfair how all good men fall for you. Do you plan on creating an army? Or maybe a harem! That would be fun!" He whispered getting closer to the woman on the espresso machine.

Yanli giggled to the idea. It would be a great thing to have, if she wasn't happy with her current life "I don't think he was interested in me." She glared at the man on the table, bowing when their eyes met. "This was the one from this morning, you know!" Her hand scratched her nose before covering her mouth. "He asked about him!"

"Oh, this is fun!" Crossing Huaisang's mind as soon as her mouth closed, he mimicked her, one hand hiding his lips. "Give me his cup, let's play Cupid." he quickly reached for the pen, smiling proudly to his new master piece. 

He had been friends with Wuxian ever since he met Jiang Cheng, the inseparable trio, like the adults around would call him. He just never understood how, in this world, could the man be single if he was as hot as the freshly brewed coffee on his hand, had an amazing personality and an easy going way of living. But, he would not be called Nie Huaisang if he didn't, this time, he would push over all barriers to make it work!

The boy waved when the customers got out of the shop, reaching for his phone in one second. He dialled the message still smiling, laughing happily when Yanli shook her head and hit his shoulder softly moving away.

Sang:A-Xian! I just saw your prince! Damn taste! He is hotter than our machines!

Xian: ehhh? He was back? We just left :( 

Sang: don't worry, I gave him a souvenir!

JC: What unnecessary thing did you do this time?

Sang: nothing much. Just some digits and a cute name to go with his coffee!

Xian: what??? Omg! What will I do if he calls???

JC:Dumbass! Why would he call? He probably thinks it's Sang’s phone! Did you even give him your name?

Sang: …

Xian: ...

Sang: that was… not a good plan…. Sorry a-Xian :(((

Xian: it's okay .. it's not like he would want anything anyways. It's better like this.

JC: -.-

Sang: :(

JC: let's just work, and forget it. Okay?

Sang: yeah… one day you will find your prince! He may be closer than it seems!

Xian… I doubt… but… maybe… let's hope for that.

JC mn

Sang mm


	9. Chapter 9

Mo Xuanyu stood still looking around. He was lost inside the station. There were just so many people, and so many rooms he didn't know we're to go anymore. He was almost crying when a deep voice echoed on his ears: "Are you lost, kid?"

It was a man he never saw before, but since he was told to not disturb the others, he was glad someone reached to him first “Ah… yes! I'm new so it takes me some time to memorize the place." He felt embarrassed to admit it. Fearing to be looked down as a detective with no memory.

"Ha, don't feel bad about it!" The man passed an arm over his shoulders, moving his whole body with him. "This place is a fucking maze. It took me one month to memorize where the evidence locker was. Where are you going?"

"T-the special unit, sir"

"Lucky you! That's where I'm going! The name's Song Lan, yours?"

"M-mo Xuanyu, sir." He remembered the name. It was Lan Wangji’s partner. "It's an honor to meet you!"

"My pleasure, Kiddo. Btw, nobody told you to drop the sir yet? Save it for the higher ranks?"

"Oh, mister Lan told me the same. The youngster one." Finally something he knew about!

"Wangji? Oh boy. Are you his shadow? How are you dealing with him?" Song knew how ice-cold Lan Wangji could present himself to new people. 

"It is okay so far. He is a good teacher." Like hell would Xuanyu speak badly to the man of his own partner. He gulped when his words came out, dreading the sight of the door in front of him. One more day of being treated like air, and spoken to only about subjects related to the case.

"Well, he is always like this." Song pushed the door open, releasing Xuanyu from his grip. He put both hands on his hips, stuffed his chest, and opened his arms, smiling wildly "I'm back bitches!" 

Everybody in the room turned to the door, faces pale eyes open, frozen in space as Lan Qiren stood in the middle of the place "Like I was saying, after a personal request, we agreed to let Mr Song back before the agreed time." The older man turned to the door, eyeing Song Lan with his habitual fury. "It's a pleasure to have you back." The words were said in-between closed teeths, showing no indication of being true. 

Song Lan bowed to the chief when he left the room, waiting a few moments before he closed the door and laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach from the pain. 

"Do you ever change?" Jin Guangyao shook his head, smiling to the scene.

"I had no idea he would be here! I swear!"

"Or you would have done worse!" This time it was Nie Mingjue who pretended not to be amused with the whole situation. 

"Ahh… I missed you guys too! Wangji, come here, where's my hug?" He sprinted to his table, reaching Lan Wangji before he could move away. "Look how much work you leave undone without me around!"

"Whose fault is this that I had to do all the paperwork a certain someone left undo?" It was, for sure, his fault. Song hated to do those, leaving it to the side until he had no other option. In fact, one third of the papers above Wangji’s desk was Song’s delayed work.

"Are you back for good?" Xichen asked coming closer to greet the man.

"Yes, sir! Half the hours for now. Back to normal next week!" 

"And the doctor's orders…?"

"He agreed with me. I'm all healed and ready to go. He allowed me to come back under instructions of not pushing myself too hard."

"Good."

"What happened to him?" They could hear Xuanyu ask, giving a cup of coffee to his brother. 

"It was… an unfortunate accident..." Jin Guangyao held his laugh after saying this, making Xuanyu even more curious.

"An accident, right. He slipped on the air and twisted his ankle." Wangji responded as dry as he could be.

"Hey man, come on, it wasn't on air. I swear that prick made me fall!" Song rushed to defend his honor, but it was no use. 

"He was almost two meters in front of you?" It happened one month ago. They were chasing a suspect during the empty neighborhood, Wangji had called him several times to make the man stop, but Song was sure he could catch the criminal alone. Turns out he tripped on his own legs, falling face flat on the muddy ground, leaving the catch to Wangji who used a detour to grab a hold of the running man. 

"Can't you just let it go? Please?" He hid his face with one hand seeing Wangji grab his buzzing phone.

"Mn. We have better things to do."


	10. Chapter 10

Song Lan was feeling his face red from the shame thrown on him first thing in the morning. There was almost nothing that could embarrass him, but that for sure made it to the top ten list. He walked the corridors greeting those who spoke to him, he knew this path with the palm of his hands.The loud music could be heard in the end of the corridor as they approached the silver double doors.

"I'm back!" he said to nobody. The two people inside still focused on what they were doing. "I SAID I’M BACK!" His scream became louder as Wangji turned the music off in the middle of his sentence.

"Dude, no need to shout!" Qing swivelled on her chair, looking at them.

"Babe, you sure took your sweet time coming here." Xiao Xingchen raised his eyes only to reprimand the lack of news since the morning.

"Aww, you missed me this much?" He moved closer, grabbing the man into a big bear hug. Xuanyu could only watch as the scene unfold, it was so different from what he was expecting from someone partner to the all mighty Hanguang-jun.

"Did you have something for us?" Wangji approached the woman too used to these actions to be bothered by them.

"Yes. We traced the fur we found. It belongs to a Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus, or a domestic rabbit, a subspecies of the European rabbit. Pocket sized, as some may call it, great to have as a pet." 

"So we are looking for someone or some place who may have rabbits." Wangji put a hand over his chin. Rabbits were quite difficult to find, not many people had them, but it did become a fashion fever in the last year's. "We will search around pet shops and see if we can dig some owners."

"But then…" Xuanyu swallowed his words before ending his phrase. He was ashamed to disturb Wangji’s thoughts, especially with all eyes falling on him.

"Please, continue." Wangji raised a brow, waiting for the man to speak. He opened his mouth when he noticed that he wouldn't.

"I-its just something silly....It may be a pet café, or a petting zoo. The culprit doesn't need to have a pet, or work with them. He can just visit a place where he can touch them to have fur on his clothes." His face burned and he could feel it becoming redder

"Nice job, newbie!" Song spoke while holding Xingchen in his arms. It was indeed a good catch from someone on his third day of work.

"Mn. Indeed, very good." Wangji nodded to him in approval. It wasn't something he used to do, but he was told to teach and stimulate the freshman. "We must go. Call if you have any new clues." He bowed seeing Song hold Xingchen tighter making the latter drop the black light lamp out of his hands to push his boyfriend away.

"Wait!" Qing exclaimed as they moved. "Do that again!"

"What? Hold him? I don't know why but sure." Song started to never but was stopped by the woman

"The light, stupid! Move it again on the body!" She waited for the action with wide eyes. It was something they would not feel the need to do, to search the body with the black light. But there it was, the deep marks embed inside the skin.

"What is this?" Xingchen asked, giving a closer look, the bits of the body were skinned by something they still needed to determine. It was a postmortem wound, the victim had it all over her torso, legs and arms, the official first thought was that the killer may have a fetish, or some modus operandi very disturbing.

"Is that…"

"A drawing?" They all came closer, Qing pulled a big magnifying glass with lights off over the space, pulling Xingchen hand to adjust the lamp he was holding. "Not a drawing, this is…"

"A tattoo!" They looked back at Song Lan, who had stated the obvious. He pulled up his sleeve, showing them the marks on his skin. "This is a tattoo."

"But… why would he take it out?"

"A souvenir maybe!?" Xuanyu exclaimed, almost as if asking.

"This is a cold case, right?" Qing asked, moving to the huge fridge where they embalmed corpses.

"Yes, why?" Wangji followed closely on her steps.

"We have three other bodies around here. It was Xichen's request, but we still need to work on them. One had clear signs of being skinned alive, we attributed it to gang's at the time, but…"

"But?" Wangji saw her searching the bodies, moving her hands to ask for the black light lamp.

"There. Can you see it?" The faint glow contrasted on the skin, making it visible the drawing taken from it.

"What made you think of that?" Song asked looking at her worried look.

"It was just a hunch. I saw a movie like this once. I never thought people would actually do it."

"Do the forensics on the case, we will investigate the crime scene, call if you find anything." Wangji gave his orders and walked away, he stopped at the door, turning to the curious duo still watching the mark under the magnifying glass "And Qing…"

"Make it a priority, we know."

"Mn." If his guts were right, this was more than just a coincidence.


	11. Chapter 11

As usual, Wuxian’s day started with his habitual trip to get his caffeine shot. He gave Yanli his order, looking around in hope to see his prince. "A-Xian, what are you doing?" The woman asked knowingly.

"N-nothing, Jie!" He got the hot cup on his hands, blowing the liquor before taking a sip. The steam fogging his glasses. 

"Did you call him?" She leaned forward on the balcony, asking in a low tone heard by curious ears.

"Yeah, Xian, did you?" Huaisang mimicked the boss, leaning to hear the response.

"I can't !! What if he asks to see me and…" Wuxian scratched his nose. He still had purple shadows above his eyes from the impact. His mind going directly to the expression his co-workers gave him the other day when he arrived at the parlour. Mouths open, eyes crunched, disgusting looks. And it was still good by then. Now, he was said to wear dark shades and a mask to not scare the customers. "He will think I am disgusting too."

"How could he? Not when our Xianxian is the most beautiful in this world!" She tried to cheer him up, pressing a soft hand over his cheek.

"That's not what people think after meeting me..." He sighed pouting: "I know that I am too much but… only once… would it be too much to ask for a relationship?"

"Who told you that you are too much? Tell us, and I will kick their ass… well, if it was a guy, Yanli-Jie can deal with the womanly side, right?"

"Leave it to me!" She held an arm up, pressing her dedicated finger around the even more delicate, and with a lack of muscle, forearm.

Wuxian could only laugh when the two of them talk. His whole life, he had a fair number of persecutors, but none had ever stayed. It could only be his fault. But, even so, deep inside he wished to find the "right one" he even saved the number on his phone just in case it would be his prince, but lacked the courage to call, to make a fool of himself once again, leaving it to destiny to play his hand.

And destiny sure did it.


	12. Chapter 12

Lan Wangji was tired above his limits. For the whole week he had been followed around by his new shadow, having to socialize and teach the boy the grips of the job. Song Lan coming back sooner didn't help at all, since he would just bug Wangji speaking non-stop about every show he watched on TV. But it was finally Friday, and he had the weekend free.

He took his suit and hung the fabric, moving to let his body fall on the couch; his mind knew he should go take a bath and sleep on the bed but his body refused to give even one step more. He lay there, one arm above his eyes, feeling the exhausting week paying its price. He quickly drifted to sleep, being awakened by the buzzing phone, eyes too blurred to understand the words on the screen. He pressed them right shut, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Furrowing brows when he read the message.

"Chengiiieeeeeeeee, what dhould I pooo? Cslll, nit call?" He would have left it as it was, if the phone stopped ringing. 

"Sorry, not chengie. You must have a wrong number."

"Wring nimbrt?"

"Yes. Wrong number."

"Nister or naam?"

"Mister, I suppose if that was the question."

"Misssssteeerrrr what shul ibdoo?"

"I do not understand what you mean with that. I suppose you should drink some water and sober up. No matter what age you are, being drunk is not good."

"Should I call gim?"

"Calling someone in this state isn't appropriate." 

"But he so goooddd..."

"He may dislike it if you call. Is past twelve. He should be sleeping. And so do you."

"Are you still there?"

"I… don't want to be disliked."

"Man.. that sobered me up just fine. Sorry for this, mister. I was trying to reach my brother"

"Is not a problem. Take care. Don't drink to much again"

"Mister?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You seem very polite. You should do well with people, be liked… what can I do to not be disliked?"

It was a question Wangji didn't know how to respond. He seemed likable? Only to a drunk person's mind. It was actually the contrary, he could not remember the last time someone said they liked him. 

"I do not know. But being drunk won't help."

"Ah… yes… I am annoying, right? Sorry. I just… no, never mind. I should not disturb you any longer"

"Not annoying… different… and is okay if you want to finish your sentence." He had lost his sleep anyway. Talking could, in the least, help his mind go back to a relaxing mode.

"Ah… are you sure?"

"Go ahead."

"I… met someone this week. I saw him only once but… he was so… "

"Good?"

"No! Above good. His face just… ahh, o can't even name it!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing wrong! I kept going to the coffee at the same time trying to see him, but it was to no avail! A friend who works at the shop gave him my number, but he didn't call or text! But then again, I dropped coffee all over his suit! And it looked so expensive 😭"

It clicked. Wangji’s mind worked fast as his fingers reached for the picture. It was the same smiling face, the boy he met in the coffee shop, the one who, with so much work, he delayed reaching. 

"..."

"Did he not give you his information?" He played dumb. The man was still drunk after all, it could be an opportunity to seek something, or at least, confirm the other interest.

"He left his card. But… I have a huge bruise on my face! If he asks to meet me, what should I do? I'm not pretty normal, now? I look disgusting!"

Wangji had to reread the sentence one second time. Who in the right mind would call this man ugly?

"I am sure he doesn't think so, as he gave you his contact."

"Nooo, look _anexed picture_ I am just… plain normal"

Wangji smiled at the picture on his screen, it was adorable no matter how he looked at it. 

"I can't see it. Would you mind sending me more?"

Annexed picture 1,2,3 "are you blind mister?"

"I think they all look very pretty in all."

"... Mister… you should have your eyes checked"

"I have a perfect eyesight, thank you."

"I-..."

"What's wrong?"

"I… am not used to this. Being called pretty"

"Don't people usually say this to you?"

"Mn. My friends and family but they don't count"

"Do I?"

"... Yeah"

"Good. Cuz I can't understand how people never say this to someone like you. You must have a fair share of candidates to date."

"... I.. do not, in reality, have any"

"How could this be?"

"I don't know. I mean… maybe I am too boring? People say they liked me when we first met. But after one date… they just vanish. I have already tried everything. Listen to this… there was this once I stayed silent for the whole date! Just nodding and answering her questions, but in the end, she never replied my calls"

"She?" Wangji raised a brow. "First a guy now a girl?"

"I… can't be picky."

"Why not?"

"Because I am not likable. I just wanted someone who would stay… but… nobody ever does it. So I thought… maybe… if I don't say no, one day…"

"Isn't it bad for you? To lead people around. Or do you go for both sex?"

"I… don't really know. I never felt my heart rush before… well, maybe, with… but he would never go for someone like me"

"He?" If it was a guy does this mean he had a chance? Wangji sat on the couch fully awake. This conversation was taking a direction he liked very much. Even the moral side of his mind had shut down to the words he was reading.

"The man from the coffee shop 🥺 he was just so pretty… my heart was dokidoki all the time. But I won't stand a chance with him"

"Why not?"

"He never called me back!!!" Dammit Wangji thought. 

"Why don't you call him, then?"

"I… don't want him to hate me. I never had a relationship, I don't even know what to do to make him like me back!! Even more pursuing him!"

"Be yourself and I know he will love you. You are very lovable, Wei Wuxian"

"Did I told you my name?" Fuck. He messed up. "Mister?" "Hellooooo?"

"Look at my picture." It was the first time Wangji had put his picture on whatsapp. He never thought it was necessary before. "Hello? Wei Wuxian?"

"OMG. I should go to bed. Yeah. That's it. Good night!" Wangji smiled seeing the last message. He could imagine the flustered face of the man looking at his screen. He was glad that for once he took that buzzing call.

Wuxian dropped his phone on the bed. He buried his face on the pillow feeling it heat up in embarrassment. He could not believe what his drunk mind had just made. For the whole night he was talking about Lan Wangji, with no one other than the man himself! He screamed, muffed by the pillows, wishing he could just die right there… but… the man did call him pretty. He called him lovable… he had a chance, right?


	13. Chapter 13

Wangji still smiled looking at his phone messages, he thought of sending a “good morning” but as the days passed, he asked himself if it was too intrusive to be done, after all, the man just messaged him by mistake on his drunken night. He kept opening the convo on the app, typing, erasing, and closing it, every vacant moment he had. The message, being delivered when Song Lan held him and pushed his hand by accident. He looked in utter horror at the tick marking the delivered message. But one day had passed, and no response.

He was now reaching the second day, and nothing. He had just woken up, leaving his cellphone down after checking the messages from work, he made a mental list of the things he needed to do during the day, moving on autopilot to grab a black suit from his closet. He liked that suit, it made him feel powerful, and according to his brother, handsome. Maybe with some luck he would find the man he wanted today. 

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, was a pile of nerves. He could not believe he had messaged the wrong number. Even more, the prince he lusted over was the first notification of his day! But, how could he answer it after having such a sexy dream with the man? It was what people called a wet dream, the first of his life, and there was not one second he didn’t record it in his mind, one second he had free that his hands wouldn’t open the amazingly stunning picture of Lan Wangji he had, obviously, saved on his phone, even set as wallpaper. He sighed so hard, the whole studio could hear. His frustration making his way out.

“Wei Wuxian! If you keep doing that, you can just go home! Nobody deserves to hear you sigh all day today too!” Wen Xu called him out, he had arrived just thirty minutes ago, but was already getting on his boss' nerves. 

“Now, now, babe. What can he do? Is his first crush!” Wen Zhuliu got closer to Wen Xu, hugging his waist to pull his husband to his side. They were what Wuxian would think of as “a perfect couple” fitting each other so well, not even the society could stand between them. 

“I. Don’t. Give. A. Shit!” Wen Xu spoke with big spaces in-between. Teeths clenched in dislike. “Where the fuck is Jiang Cheng to keep you in check?”

“He is grabbing my morning shot!” Wuxian whined crossing his arms on the back of the chair and letting his chin rest above them.

“Why the hell don’t you go there?” 

“I can’t!! Xuxu! What if he is there?” Wuxian got up in a second, still seated, his back going straight.

“Again, I Don’t FUCKING care! Just… Get out of my sight! You make me anxious just by looking at you!” He raised his hand pointing to the door, confirming in actions what he wanted to express. “MOVE! Take the day off, and you better have fixed this depressive mood by tomorrow!”

Wuxian walked to the shop being casted out of his work. It was good to have the day off, but going to Yanli’s made him even more anxious. He took his phone, sending Jiang Cheng one simple message before turning around to the bus stop. “I’m going home”


	14. Chapter 14

Wen Qing requested the team’s presence first thing in the day. She waited until all three current members arrived before starting her speech. “We have in hand ten bodies, some are too old and the flash already started to root, but we could find traces of three tattoo removed, that is, three bodies with the same pattern.” She got up off her chair, moving to turn the light on. They had put the black light on the roof, making the room all shine with products and white sheets. “We did a primary rummage on the evidence, they all had traces of the same fur we found on the Victim Zero.” She looked at Xuanyu. “That's how we are calling the first one we found with the same modus operandi.”

Xuanyu nodded, seeing her lift a sheet to show dried, not present, skin. With the dermis long gone, and the black lights, it looked even more as rooted meat. He covered his nose, fearing to throw up again with the strong smell of formol. “Are those from the same rabbit? The fur I mean.” 

“It wasn't kept properly, we can’t compare DNA.” Xiao Xingchen said in her place. “But we did analyze the fur, and it seems as a different species.”

“So… The possibility of a pet shop or petting zoo is getting stronger.” Song nodded with a hand on his chin. “There aren't many people who have three different species of rabbits as pets out there,” he explained, seeing Xuanyu's confused look. 

“It is still a possibility to be seen.” Lan Wangji was dry, he knew too well they shouldn’t overlook any hypothesis on this job. The minimal details could bring the guilty to jail. 

“From where do you want us to start, boss?” Song put a hand over his shoulder, getting friendly as he approached the man, he was seeking forgiveness after the whatsapp incident to this day.

“We have two leads now, the rabbits and the tattoos. Which one would you seek first?” He looked at Mo Xuanyu, letting him choose the next step.

“Ah.. I-I… The tattoo parlour, s-erm... It is easier to find those since they have to get the government approval to work. From there, we can just narrow names with the stores and see what we can find.” 

“Very well, search for places and make a list, we will go to all of them.” 

“a-all??” Xuanyu eyes grew. 

“Hey kid, scared of the job already?” Song pulled Xuanyu out, sending a flying kiss to his lover before crossing the doors. 

“I -” Wangji started being cut short by Qing.

“You will be on your phone, we get it. Go.”


	15. Chapter 15

“4.500 tattoo artists in china; 13 outlets in this city alone. 34 petting zoos, around six here. We have 10 pet shops who sell rabbits or rabbit products." Xuanyu reported as soon as he ended his search.

"Good. The address?" Wangji pretended to not notice his brother smiling softly to him giving orders on the other side of the room.

"Right here."

"How do you wanna proceed?" Song was leaning on Wangji's desk, arms crossed, waiting for the freshman’s choice.

"Mn… I think it would be good if we go from East to West."

"Why not closer and then far away?" Wangji inquired with a raise of brow.

"Because not everyone shops on the same street. If we do a sweep from divisions, it works better and takes less time. If we do those closer we will end up doing circles around the city."

"Good." They nodded to the young man approving of his words. It was something people used to forget during classes, the importance of keeping track of the time lost on an investigation.

"We will go now. Don't miss us too much." Song waved goodbye, pulling Xuanyu away with him.

"Brother, I will be going." Wangji took his time following behind them. It was a tradition to greet when parting ways, it started after his parents died. They never had the chance to say goodbye.

"Take care."

Jin Guangyao waited until they were away, approaching the two superiors in the room. "Do you think they will be okay? I am still unsure about Momo's abilities."

"If someone can train him, it's Wangji. Look what he did to Song!" Mingjue exclaimed, moving on his seat, his ass felt flat from being on the desk all day.

"This is exactly what worries me. I don't know if we can handle a second Song Lan around." 

Xichen chuckled at these words. He knew very well how undisciplined Song may appear just as much as he knew how well trained he was. After all, parts of him still thinks that Wangji was too closed up in all the rules made when a kid, and lacks a little of… unruliness in his life. "Kids will grow as they seem fit. We can only hope for the best." 

"Well, at least the US, will wait at another place. Let's go, Xi. Good job with the desk work, midget." Mingjue moved away with a smile on his face, the mockery was going on for about a month after Yao was put responsible to organize all the paperwork of their division by his father. The words "I need someone I can trust" misused just to escape a boring task.

"You should not treat him like that" Xichen started the car seeing Mingjue take out his suit. He never used the blazer on the field, rolling up the sleeves up to his forearm, spenders holding his badge and gun easily taken from the coldre. He was ready to action at any time.

"What can I say? It's fun! He doesn't mind anyways. Keeps calling me a buff giant!"

"You give him the right to do so?"

"Well, you love this buff giant. That's all I need to know." The flirting acts happen every time they feel safe. Dating since school days, it was sometimes almost impossible to hide the almost marriage. 

"He is not so small!"

"You have eyes on other men?" He faked being hurt, hand placed over the heart.

"Nonsense. You are a handful already. Where would I find the time?" Xichen played to his words. He knew it was all a way to pass time "He is around Sang’s weight. And you never call you brother small."

"I have hopes he will grow. But… I wish he won't. He looks like a scare puppy every time I get mad. It's so cute!"

"Brother complex!"

"As if you are different. You would have an altar for Wangji at your place if he let you."

"Pardon me? My Wangji is the cutest!"

"Babe, your brother is a block of ice with legs!" To be honest, Mingjue has known Wangji for his whole life and never saw the man give more than two expressions. "What happened with the coffee boy anyways? Did he say something?"

"Only asked what to do if he was being ignored. I don't think Wangji has good social skills."

"And you noticed it now?" The chit chat worked well, as they arrived at the scene without noticing. As usual, the first thing Mingjue did was talk with the cops guarding the scene, while Xichen only waved and moved through them to see the dead body.

It was a young girl, not even past her twenties. Piercings, colorful hair, and a shared house this time. It always amazed him how someone could die in a house full of people and nobody notices it. 

He took note of a pattern he already saw before. She was wearing a skirt, pantie on her ankles, and a pantyhose around her neck. He sighed, almost instantly guessing what the forensics would say. No DNA, no fingerprint, nothing. This killer was smart. 

Mingjue came a few minutes later, hiding his notes in the air. He furrowed his brows to the girl's sight. He hated when the victims were just kids. "The roommates all said the same. Despite her looks she was very focused on her studies. No dates, no parties. She never had a boyfriend, used drugs nor had a drink in her life… what a shame." He could almost predict that she lost her virginity to the one who killed her.

"Qing and Xingchen?"

"Arriving in ten minutes. She said they needed to make a few arrangements on the kit before coming. The night shift is making her crazy. They never. Leave everything in its place."

"I see… let's go talk with them again."

**Author's Note:**

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